Towing an S behind RV

[Saghost]

Gearbox is splash lubricated, right? Motor is induction, so no current flow/resistance/heat with no field from the inverters.

I'm not sure towing it is wise, but I'm not seeing how it will cause harm - Tesla's design is more suited to it than any other EV I think. It's true that the motor cooling isn't active, but motor heating shouldn't be significant.

 

[whitex]

Gearbox is splash lubricated, right? Motor is induction, so no current flow/resistance/heat with no field from the inverters.

I'm not sure towing it is wise, but I'm not seeing how it will cause harm - Tesla's design is more suited to it than any other EV I think. It's true that the motor cooling isn't active, but motor heating shouldn't be significant.

I think it boils down to "unsupported use case" , meaning no support from Tesla and if anything breaks, you're on your own. It's like using a giant umbrella as a parachute, it might actually work for you, but no guarantees from the manufacturer. Now think of that umbrella as being electronically controlled via software which updates itself periodically, so maybe some new feature detects too much wind pressure causing the umbrella to intentionally fold itself backwards to avoid damage in normal use, but as a parachute it will just make it plummet where the old version of software worked for you.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

Going to try that again. Flickr just seems to put a link to the image as opposed to the image when on the iphone. Weird.

The weight of an S on a trailer wouldn't phase a big diesel motorhome. During the years we were touring Mexico we pulled this little motorhome behind the big one. We did over 30,000 KM and 27 Mexican States in the little thing. What a hoot. Back to a boring old town house now but for a decade or so the big coach was our home and the little one the cottage. If you are a history buff Mexico is a great country to tour. That and a ton of nice people and a great culture....and did I mention the food?

 

[whitecotton]

The gearbox is lubricated by a mechanical pump, that works anytime the gears are moving (even in reverse). Assuming you towed with the car in neutral, but powered off the car would not input or extract any power from the motor therefore not creating heat so the cooling isn't needed. The only way to charge the car would be putting weight in the seat fastening the seatbelt and putting the car into drive, but don't forget your key because when the car starts moving teh doors will lock. Note if towing the car using a dolly the car will almost certainly have errors because it sees that all four wheels aren't moving at the same speed. I don't think there would be a problem with long term towing because once the battery got close to full the regen would taper automatically to protect the battery.

 

[Ingineer]

I've towed the Model S (both RWD and D models) with the rear wheels on the ground with no damage. The Drive Unit has a gear pump for lube, but only works with the forward direction. No need to turn the car on, just put the car in tow mode to leave the parking brake calipers open on the rear. Yes, it will add wear on the drive line, but less so than normal driving.

There is no need for cooling, as there will be minimal heat produced in the gearbox, and none in the inverter. Since Tesla uses an AC induction motor rather than brushless DC like most EV's have these days, there is no high voltage generated by spinning the motor when the power to the inverter is off.

 

[SlyWombat]

Has anyone put the car fully on a trailer? Aluminum car trailer plus car is less than 7500lbs so no issue pulling behind a number of RV's our Class C can pull that no problem.

H&H Low Profile Speedloader Aluminum Tiltbed – Action Trailers

 

[SKRGO]

Bollinger B1 | Bollinger Motors

Listed under FAQS

"Will the B1 be flat towable? Yes. And we are working to have the batteries recharge as you tow the B1, as the motors will be turned into generators in neutral."